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# Pre-MATHCOUNTS Training Class

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Note by Finn Hulse
2 years, 10 months ago

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The worst thing is in India you don't have any such competitions. And if there are any, students don't tutor people. Big institutes buy contracts from the institute conducting the exam and conduct classes for the students at very high prices which really sucks. :/ :( · 2 years, 10 months ago

There is the AMTI-NMTC competition, but it is nothing as interactive as MATHCOUNTS. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Yes. You're right. The NMTC is nowhere close to Mathcounts. That's because in MATHCOUNTS there is proper training and stiff competition too. Whereas in NMTC only the people who are really into it ( Andhra people) top every year despite it being organised from T.N :( · 2 years, 10 months ago

I know. I am from Tamil Nadu! I can never make it past RMO. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Hey! You're a level 5. You are very creative too. You still have one more year. I definitely think you will make the cut · 2 years, 10 months ago

But NMTC is the best we can get in India. And I an quite satisfied with the standard of NMTC paper. · 2 years, 10 months ago

It sets the tone for INMO, and further competitions · 2 years, 10 months ago

This is so awesome! I wish I had the chance to tutor people because I love to teach people things. You're on to a great start, keep on going!

I definitely would want you to do a CD round. Questions like $$\text{What is }34+62+56+38+44+66$$ (the answer is, clearly, $$100+100+100=300$$) would seem appropriate. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Thanks! Yeah that's a good idea. Something I really want to emphasize is not being scared by a problem. So I don't want to overwhelm them and make them feel rushed, but there's nothing like competition to get a little kid's mind's gears spinning! :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Go for it, dude! Teach them how the round would be. I wish I could do something like that here but the only thing I could tutor children on is the APSMO, Australian Problem Solving Maths Olympiad, in which I got 2 gold medals. Not many children here are interested in maths. It sucks. :( · 2 years, 10 months ago

Ummmm... I've tutored a 5th grader for two days, to get her ready for a MathCounts exam, and it was tough. She was motivated, and smart, but I didn't know what I could cover in 6 hours. I'd say you did great, but always make sure to plan ahead and make your lesson plan beforehand, not during the lesson. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Oh yeah I was a little on-the-spot with some of it. But it was great! :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

I really commend your attempt to train your schoolmates for MC. Few months back I tried to inspire some of my classmates to take serious preparations for RMO in hope that I'd get to see some familiar faces at the INMOTC and my friends would get to know that maths isn't all about grades, but all in vain. Everybody here is obsessed with school scores and getting into IIT (a silly overrated Indian engineering college).

That being said, best of luck to you and your students at MC next year. Continue teaching them. A student teaching his juniors for no other reason than just to teach is always appreciable.

A warning though: don't jump to the hard topics soon, they might not be able to catch up and hence lose interest. And if you're interested in giving them another good maths teaser, have them try this:

Choose any positive integer $$n.$$ Ask your students to take any $$n+1$$ distinct integers from the set $$\{1, 2, \cdots , 2n\}$$ so that none among the chosen integers is equal to the sum of two other chosen integers. (Of course, you need to rephrase this in a more non-mathematical way. Maybe ask them to choose any $$6$$ numbers between $$1$$ and $$10$$.)

This can never be done. Let them try it for larger integers $$n.$$ They still won't be able to come up with a construction. Now, when they're totally convinced that this is impossible, ask them why they can't do this. The reasoning behind this is not very easy for a fifth grader, this is actually a spinoff of an old USAMO problem. But anyways, have your students spend hours thinking on why this isn't possible. They might not succeed, but this is a good way to get them interested. (This is how I planned to get my friends interested, but they were like "who cares".) · 2 years, 10 months ago

Thanks Sreejato (by the way you have the coolest name in the world)! I already see so many teaching opportunities in that problem! (I also see the proof which is really great :D). · 2 years, 10 months ago

Hey, that's nice! I think I can try to prove it. Wish I were your friend :P · 2 years, 10 months ago

Yes, you can. It's not very hard. ;) · 2 years, 10 months ago

I think using pigeonhole principle and a bit of algebraic calculations. Right or not? · 2 years, 10 months ago

There are more than one ways to approach it. I used induction, but there is also a solution using the extremal principle. So, I can't really tell. · 2 years, 10 months ago

I think that the main thing you might want to teach them is Geometry. Geo is the thing that most people don't know, but is very useful(and necessary) in MathCounts. As for the Countdown, I would go for it! Watching the CD at my chapter in 5th grade was what motivated me to do MathCounts. It's definitely a good way to encourage kids and get them to join(if they see the action). · 2 years, 10 months ago

Wow I hadn't really thought of that! That's a definite must then! Because I get a whiteboard, I'll probably draw a diagram and then let them work it out on scratch paper. · 2 years, 10 months ago

You can tutor me too! :) jk :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Hah, more like you tutoring me. :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

sure, actually. lets associate through AoPS Private messages.. or jk idk whut · 2 years, 10 months ago

Comment deleted May 26, 2014

sure · 2 years, 10 months ago

Okay I'm just going to delete that for privacy. Hope you wrote it down. :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Privacy??? ;) · 2 years, 10 months ago

As soon as he responds in some way I'll take it down. It's okay. :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

:D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Good job! I feel that it's nice that you have such initiative to help others. :D Tutor me too! :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Haha no you're too awesome. Remind me what you got on your AMC 10? I got a 78 if that makes you feel any better. :O · 2 years, 10 months ago

Oh... I probably could have made it to the AIME if I hadn't got extremely careless. I got a 106.5

But there's always next year! Try harder, be more careful and we'll probably make it to AIME next year! :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Are you in 7th grade too? I'm just happy that I have time. You know @David Lee got like 136.5 or something crazy and he's in 5th grade. :O · 2 years, 10 months ago

Are you serious!? Oh man. He's way too pro. Yep, I'm in 7th grade, but we call it Secondary 1 in Singapore. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Are you at Raffles and just BTW did you ever know a girl named Caitlyn Dila? She's my friend from school and she lived in Singapore for a couple of years. She went to a school with some genius named Dakh. Do any of those names ring a bell? · 2 years, 10 months ago

Yep I'm in Raffles Institution. But unfortunately I don't remember anyone with such a name. · 2 years, 10 months ago

How many marks is AMC 10 for? · 2 years, 10 months ago

The full mark is 150 for 25 questions. If you get it correct it's 6 marks for you; wrong gains you 0 marks; and if you leave the question unanswered you get 1.5. In spite of getting a half mark in my score, I don't seem to recall leaving any question blank. Weird. O.o · 2 years, 10 months ago

I never leave a single question blank, which isn't a very good strategy. I also take like 30 minutes carefully bubbling each answer choice. :O · 2 years, 10 months ago

Haha... Get an art pencil. They're like 2mm thick and a mere line just blackens the whole bubble immediately. It saves on time. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Thank you for that advice. That's actually incredibly helpful! :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

No prob. :) · 2 years, 10 months ago

150. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Wow! Thats really fun! Even though I don't have the expertise to solve some good problems, I would love to train atleast some second-third graders for some bit of advanced math · 2 years, 10 months ago

I want to go back in time three years and teach myself. · 2 years, 10 months ago

Me too :(... I was really DUMB back then... ( that doesn't mean I'm good now)...but now I can see a lot of kids who are super-talented on Brilliant · 2 years, 10 months ago

I was dumb too that's kind of why I started it! So that I would make sure younger kids would have the opportunity(s) that I never had! :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Will you train me please for Algebra and Geometry? · 2 years, 10 months ago

What would you like help with? · 2 years, 10 months ago

Almost everything :P... mostly equation solving( functional eqs, cubics, harder ones)... maximum and minimum of non-quadratic functions... and in geoemtry almost everything.....:( I'm so bad at both of them :( · 2 years, 10 months ago

For algebra, Brilliant is the perfect place to start! Look up "Finn Hulse" in the searchbar, and then set the filter to "Algebra". Look through some of my Level 3/4 problems and try them. My "Funky Functional Equations" ones are particularly good practice, but I have some others in other areas you mentioned.

As for Geometry, I can't say I'm very good at it, but it's something that comes only with practice. No teacher or website or book can teach you the right way to think. You have to develop an instinct as to how you solve problems. Like knowing what to look for, and the like. Go through AoPS's geometry problems and try them, then read the solutions. :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

:D.....May be I should learn the techniques for Algebra from the solutions of these problems...because what I'd wanted was theory....:P....and yes, only some minds CUT for doing geometry can do it exemplarily :). · 2 years, 10 months ago

Would you definitely train me? :P....I too want to become atleast half-competent as you, Daniel and the others in problem solvin.... · 2 years, 10 months ago

Comment deleted May 25, 2014

Thank you very much :D..... · 2 years, 10 months ago

You're welcome! I deleted that comment just for my own privacy though. :P · 2 years, 10 months ago

I would have asked you to do that even otherwise .... :P....because I strongly feel that one must have their privacy and I appreciate your stand on it (Y) · 2 years, 10 months ago

:D :D · 2 years, 10 months ago

Comment deleted May 25, 2014